About Steel Tears
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PULSE! August '96 issue---Pickin' Favorites
by Larry King
One of the enduring archetypes within the traditional musical landscape is the
image of the solitary picker, the musician who shuns the musical mainstream to master the intricacies of archaic or near-forgotten instruments. For the lucky few listeners willing to search for these artists, the rewards are plentiful.
Consider the case of stringed-instrument virtuoso Sandy Bull. During the '60s, his Vanguard recordings set the standard for adventurous audiences seeking an east-west fusion of musical forms. After a long recording hiatus, Bull put his personal demons behind him, started a family and jump-started his recording career with a series of reissues and new material that demonstrate again why his '60s-era peers held him in such high regard. Steel Tearscaptures the esoteric Bull at his eclectic best with a host of genres, (country, r&b, instrumentals), guest stars (Kevin Welch, Sam Phillips, Jerry Douglas) and a variety of instruments.
Steel Tears (1996), the first album to really feature Bull's vocals on a disc that was largely covers, from Holland/ Dozier/ Holland to Arthur Crudup and beyond. "I'd had the idea for several years, and I thought it'd be interesting to do my instrumental stuff subservient to a lyric. A lot of the songs had influenced me, and I wanted to try my hand at them."
Of course, the word eclectic still more than applied to his versions, and it was well enough received to win him a nomination for Best Folk album in the Nashville Music Awards. "It's probably a far cry from most peoples' idea of folk music; they just didn't know where to put me, so they threw me in the folk category."--Folk Roots (U.K.) November, 1998 Issue
1.ARABALABAMA---S. Bull
Sandy Bull: guitars, bass, vocals, banjo, tamborine
Jerry Douglas: dobro
Eric Shouse: fiddle
Harry Stinson: drums, vocals
2.Long As We're Dreaming---E. Montgomery
Sandy Bull: guitar, piano, steel, vocals
Ginger Gosney: vocals
3. Can I Get a Witness---Holland / Dozier / Holland
Sandy Bull: guitar, piano, drums, bass, tamborine, vocals
Mike Hayes: trumpet
Chris MacDonald: trombone
Sam Phillips: vocals
Kevin Welch: vocals
4. Old Habits Like You---H. Williams Jr.
Sandy Bull: guitar, steel, vocals, kick
Harry Stinson: hi-hat
5. Love Is Forever---S. Bull / J. Parlato
Sandy Bull: guitar, Fender Six, bass, steel, vocals, percussion
Ginger Gosney: vocals
Harry Stinson: hi-hat
6. I Don't Care---C. Walker / W. Pierce
Sandy Bull: guitar, Fender Six, bass, steel, vocals, kick, hi-hat, shaker
Harry Stinson: vocals
7. It Sould Be Easier Now---W. Nelson
Sandy Bull: guitar, steel, vocals, bass, kick, hi-hat
Eric Shouse: fiddle
8. My Baby Left Me---A. Crudup
Sandy Bull: "Scotty Moore" guitar lick, bass, drums, vocal, tamborine
Phil Kenzie: saxes
Gary Nicholson: Stratocaster lead
9.Steel Tears---S. Bull
Sandy Bull: guitar, steel, vocals
John Gardner: drums
Glenn Worf: bass
10.Sideshow---V. Barrett / B. Eli
Sandy Bull: guitar, steel, bass, kick, vocals, tamborine
Ginger Gosney: vocals
Phil Kenzie: sax
Harry Stinson: hi-hat
11. I May Never Pass Out---S. Bull / T.J. Knowles
Sandy Bull: guitar, steel, vocals, bass, kick
Rhonda Coulett: vocals
Kenny Jones: vocals
Harry Stinson: hi-hat, cross-stick
Nominated "Best in Folk Catagory"
Nashville Music Awards--1997